A Basic Understanding of Genetics can Assist Social Workers in their Counseling Practice

Biopsychology
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Discuss the differences between genotype and phenotype.
A genotype refers to an organism’s genetic features. These features depend on the information that is coded in the deoxyribonucleic acid of human cells. Phenotype refers to the features that physically manifest in an organism. Let us take an example to illustrate the difference. Having blue eyes is a phenotypic characteristic. As a phenotypic characteristic, it is physical and can be observed. It is due to a condition known as autosomal recessive that the blue color manifests. Some other illustration to exemplify the difference between the two concepts mentioned above is the quantity and kind of melanin that the human skin produces is usually coded by a specific gene. The genetic trait is the genotype. The actual skin color that an individual has results from the information contained in the specific gene. The specific skin color is the phenotype.
Discuss the fundamental features of the human chromosomes. Examine how this
knowledge aids our understanding of sex-linked inheritance.
The first fundamental feature of the human chromosomes is that they are thread-like structures located inside the nuclei of human cells. Under the electron microscope, the thread-like structures appear tangled and taking many different shapes. Secondly, the human chromosomes consist of protein and single molecules of DNA. The protein and deoxyribonucleic acid features of human chromosomes are important as they make each chromosome unique. The third fundamental feature of chromosomes is that they come in pairs. Extensive evidence has revealed that every human cell has 23 pairs of chromosomes. Consequently, every human cell contains 46 strands of DNA molecules. The other fundamental feature of chromosomes is that there exist two sex chromosomes.
This knowl...